RTÉ to be hit with massive tax bill on Ryan Tubridy’s €150,000 repayment | Irish Independent
Flor Lynch
RTÉ to be hit with tax bill on Ryan Tubridy’s €150,000 repayment
RTÉ face significant tax bill on the €150,000 paid back by former star presenter Ryan Tubridy
RTÉ will be hit with a substantial tax bill on the €150,000 paid back by its former star presenter Ryan Tubridy.
The broadcaster will be left with a loss after the repayment of the controversial top-up which plunged RTÉ into financial crisis two years ago.
The broadcaster has confirmed the money paid back to RTÉ by Tubridy, the former Late Late Show host and radio presenter, will be subject to corporation tax at a rate of 12.5pc after engaging experts KPMG to assess the implications of the repayment.
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Last August, Tubridy repaid RTÉ the €150,000 he received as part of a controversial payment deal made in 2020. Tubridy left the national broadcaster in 2023, following weeks of controversy relating to the organisation publicly under-reporting payments to him.
Tubridy was to be paid a total €225,000 over three years by the national broadcaster as part of a deal to top up his salary, which was not disclosed by RTÉ in its accounts.
The presenter was paid two instalments of €75,000 by RTÉ for personal appearances for commercial sponsor Renault as part of the contentious deal.
The tripartite agreement as it came to be known, involved Tubridy making three appearances per year at Renault events. RTÉ executives previously said Renault paid Tubridy the first €75,000 payment, but then pulled out of the agreement.
The sums were processed through a barter account, which shielded the payments from public view.
Tubridy participated in one promotional event for Renault, but the second and third events did not take place. The sums were not classified in the broadcaster’s annual accounts as salary payments.
Similar to other income, this receipt will be liable for corporation tax
A spokesman for RTÉ told the Irish Independent the tax treatment for the Tubridy repayment had now been finalised.
“Similar to other income, this receipt will be liable for corporation tax. It has been treated as an element of general funds,” they said in response to queries this week.
Vat however will not apply to the repayment “due to previous
discharge by RTÉ of a Vat liability in relation to the use of the
barter account regarding
the original transaction,” they added. “The only incremental
liability is [...] corporation tax”, they said.
Last week, RTÉ Director General Kevin Bakhurst confirmed that the
broadcaster had emerged from financial deficit after a series of
reforms to place the
cash-strapped organisation on a steady footing.
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Broadcaster has set a target to reduce its headcount by 400 over
five years
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Mr Bakhurst and other senior executives at RTÉ appeared before the
Oireachtas media committee to update TDs and senators on its
redundancy programme, saying
the broadcaster had reduced its headcount by about 95 this year,
through 65 voluntary exits and around 30 resignations and
retirements.
The broadcaster has set a target to reduce its headcount by 400
over five years.
RTÉ director general Kevin Bakhurst appeared before the Oireachtas
Media Committee. Photo: PA
Mr Bakhurst confirmed there had been 308 applications for
voluntary redundancy and 107 offers had been made.
He said 65 of those offers had been accepted and three remain outstanding, leaving an acceptance rate of over 60pc. In addition, RTÉ has suppressed 30 roles through resignations and retirements.
Mr Bakhurst said the organisation remained hopeful of reaching 100 exits by the end of the year.